Americans must unite

Saturday

Dec 1, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Editor: This presidential election will not be remembered because of the candidates, their campaigns, their rhetoric or their passionate supporters. … They paled in comparison to the fallout that ensued following the subsequent landslide victory by President Obama. Hopes were deflated as the façade of a Republican victory faded.

Editor: This presidential election will not be remembered because of the candidates, their campaigns, their rhetoric or their passionate supporters. … They paled in comparison to the fallout that ensued following the subsequent landslide victory by President Obama. Hopes were deflated as the façade of a Republican victory faded.Passion turned to rage, and dissension was born. Rumors of the victorious party's deception in order to obtain victory spread, and the talk of conspiracy and malice took root. What would begin as a faint whisper of recognition of our country's ideological differences soon became the defiant roar of secession.At first I, like many of you, dismissed the outpouring of support for the secession of states from our union as nothing more than the disgruntled actions of a few; however, with every passing day this outpouring transformed into something more, something real and terrifying. Generations removed from the Civil War, complacency has left us immune to the true value of a United States. Apathy has blinded Americans to the wounds and scars derived from prejudice, division and the keen edge of secession.I know not whether I am confounded by this unfathomable notion or saddened by the deeply rooted division it illustrates. Perhaps it is both. When I consider the trivial matters from which the proponents derive their secession ambition I am left with little alternative but to think it an unconscionable undertaking to render void the contract signed in blood by every American who has sacrificially laid down their life to protect the integrity of our country and union.I understand the anger, grief and confusion one experiences after defeat because every individual has fallen prey to adversity's tactical supremacy and suffered failure a multitude of times. Yet, we have always been able to discover a measure of hope in times of tribulation. We then use that hope to light our way through the inky blackness of depression and to ultimately strengthen our resolve as we crawl our way back out of the bottomless pit of uncertainty.We are Americans. Americans are revolutionaries. Americans are reformers. Americans are resolute. … Americans refuse to be spectators in the game of life, marginalized or relegated to the sidelines. Americans have that last man standing mentality. Americans understand that victory is manifested simply by refusing to quit, that so long as we do not quit, we win! Americans will not be content with being ordinary because we know we were all born to be extraordinary.United we stand; divided we fall.… As individuals we are diverse, differentiated by the color of our skin, our sex, where we live, what we drive, who we love, or what god(s), or lack thereof, that we worship. Some of us have strength while others have courage, intelligence or determination; but when we are united these attributes become unquantifiable because we no longer possess them, we become them. We are strength. We are determination. We are courage. We are hope. We are love. We are Americans.Jason D. VarnerThomasville

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.